What salt do you use and why?

[Doctor Derp]

I think this is the general consensus I’m gathering from this discussion. For some reason I am shocked at the amount of people who use it and prefer it over other brands.

It seems companies like BRS who put out the video series highlighting the different brands really put emphasis on other brands besides IO and in some ways it’s over hyping the topic.

Yeah.. that quote from the dark knight comes to mind when thinking of businesses like Bulk Reef.. "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"

At this point in their existence, BRS has done more harm than good to the aquarium hobby. It's been all about profits for a very long time now.

 

[Because Yes]

Aquaforest since im Polish and i live close enough to Poland that is still on cheap end, but looking into Nyos now i heard goid stuff abiut it.

 

[FishLvR]

What I look for. Consistency, clarity, lab made, less clean up of mix buckets. Brands I am interested in trying is tropic marin. I have heard good things but when Nyos works so well why bother?

Are you using Nyos? I was eyeballing that the other night.

I am. It's crystal clear. Mixes within 15 minutes, leaves no residue behind. The top of the bucket to the bottom is consistent. They icp test each batch and with my home tests I find the icp test to be spot on. Unlike red sea they don't make you log in and give your email to see the results. They are printed on the bucket and for the full results you scan a QR and they just pull up.

Nyos website claims you can store this salt. Bulk reef supply who runs customer support for them, and I found out they do red sea now too, says you can not. Don't believe them. Im not a fan of bulk reef supply running support for these companies. Here is nyos's information.

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

I used a salt similar in chemistry called HW-Marinemix. The reason I am interested in tropic Marin is Petco carries it so if you ever needed salt you could just go get it. Aqua forest was a fine salt but my buckets are white and that stuff was yellow. As yellow as trucker's pee after a long haul that's late.

 

[Because Yes]

Maybe i woll look into how to make my own salt, it woukd be fun project

 

[allof fish]

I’ve being use tropic Marin pro recently after switching from reef crystals. I find that tmp mixes better for my specific needs alk around 7 and I keep mine between 8.3-8.5 so I can always dose it up. No residue mixes fast and I can store it. Only problem is everytime I go to get more I feel like price is getting higher lol. Definitely more expensive per gallon

 

[BryanM]

I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef. Why? Because I believe its one of the best, if not the best salt mix out there.

I also do not do water changes, so the fact that it is expensive doesn't bother me. I bet this current bucket lasts me 10 years, as I only do small 5 gallon water changes to adjust salinity, where I lose tank water for testing, dipping corals, etc, and it takes quite some time to go from 35 to 34 in salinity.

 

[mchans]

aquaforrest for their cheaper price in my region compared to other brand's , and i do like their lineup of product's and easy to use.

I’m switching over from Reef Crystals. Looking forward to seeing the differences if any.

 

[GoAskAlice]

Nyos. Mixes the cleanest of any I have used (i.e., little residue left in the Brute.)

 

[RobupstateNY]

AccuraSea 1 Clean & Easy

 

[RedReefer]

Regular Instant Ocean. I’ve been using for 15 years. Tried other salts and always switch back. Never any issues.

 

[CaptainBob's Reef]

I've been using Tropic Marin Pro, mainly because of the parameters, how easy and clean it mixes (clean my saltwater reservoir once a year), and because of the overall Tropic Marin system, using AFR for ACM, other maintenance products as needed. Been doing this for only ~1.5 years now, still learning, but so far I've been happy with it, though a bit pricey.

 

[MegabiteOG]

I was using IO with great success but switched to TM Pro because it mixes very clean and the parameters closely matches my tank. My tank likes them both.

 

[Reef Jedi]

I am. It's crystal clear. Mixes within 15 minutes, leaves no residue behind. The top of the bucket to the bottom is consistent. They icp test each batch and with my home tests I find the icp test to be spot on. Unlike red sea they don't make you log in and give your email to see the results. They are printed on the bucket and for the full results you scan a QR and they just pull up.

Nyos website claims you can store this salt. Bulk reef supply who runs customer support for them, and I found out they do red sea now too, says you can not. Don't believe them. Im not a fan of bulk reef supply running support for these companies. Here is nyos's information.

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

I used a salt similar in chemistry called HW-Marinemix. The reason I am interested in tropic Marin is Petco carries it so if you ever needed salt you could just go get it. Aqua forest was a fine salt but my buckets are white and that stuff was yellow. As yellow as trucker's pee after a long haul that's late.

Super interesting, does RedSea ICP each batch? I didn’t know you could see that. Is there a code on the bucket or bag?

I was buying the 200g contractor packs but never looked or read the actual bag or bucket.

 

[FishLvR]

I am. It's crystal clear. Mixes within 15 minutes, leaves no residue behind. The top of the bucket to the bottom is consistent. They icp test each batch and with my home tests I find the icp test to be spot on. Unlike red sea they don't make you log in and give your email to see the results. They are printed on the bucket and for the full results you scan a QR and they just pull up.

Nyos website claims you can store this salt. Bulk reef supply who runs customer support for them, and I found out they do red sea now too, says you can not. Don't believe them. Im not a fan of bulk reef supply running support for these companies. Here is nyos's information.

Nyos High Level Reefing

Nyos - High level reefing

www.nyos.info

I used a salt similar in chemistry called HW-Marinemix. The reason I am interested in tropic Marin is Petco carries it so if you ever needed salt you could just go get it. Aqua forest was a fine salt but my buckets are white and that stuff was yellow. As yellow as trucker's pee after a long haul that's late.

Super interesting, does RedSea ICP each batch? I didn’t know you could see that. Is there a code on the bucket or bag?

I was buying the 200g contractor packs but never looked or read the actual bag or bucket.

Yes but to see the results you must sign a notice that states they can use your information, name, email, address for marketing purchases. Nyos has it printed on a sticker with a QR code that doesn't ask you for anything just shows all results.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Yes but to see the results you must sign a notice that states they can use your information, name, email, address for marketing purchases. Nyos has it printed on a sticker with a QR code that doesn't ask you for anything just shows all results.

Gotta love data harvesting, yea… I usually stay away from things like that lol

 

[Reef Jedi]

Regular Instant Ocean. I’ve been using for 15 years. Tried other salts and always switch back. Never any issues.

Did you ever have issues switching salts? I was reading it can sometimes cause issues mixing different brands. Maybe this is just myth but curious of your experience.

 

[Johnd651]

I used IO by the pallet back in the day (2010s) for research tanks. When I started back up in the hobby my nano came with a bag of @Aquaforest reef salt. After I ran out and couldn't find it, I switched to IO Reef Crystals just out of comfort. But now that @Aquaforest is widely available, I am back on the AF Reef Salt. I noticed it mixes clean, no residue, and dissolves very quickly. I don't have any others to really compare to though.

 

[BryanM]

Did you ever have issues switching salts? I was reading it can sometimes cause issues mixing different brands. Maybe this is just myth but curious of your experience.

No issues with mixing salts.

 

[zbrusko]

I have a 44 gallon brute that is always full. I use nyos, and top it off after any water change. So some of that sw has been in that tub for many, many months. No issues, no residue. It’s usually stagnant. I circulate it 24 hours before expected water changes, but not all small wcs are expected. I keep it at 73 degrees, and circulate for about 24 hrs after I add new water to the tub. Sometimes it sits still for a month before a wc. It really has been painless & consistent in parameters.

 

[karakurt]

I use Fauna Marin Professional Sea Salt.